The Elephants reached the knockout stage of the 33rd edition in Cameroon as Group E winners after amassing seven points while Equatorial Guinea came second with six points
Ivory Coast kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 victory against Nzalang Nacional, drew 2-2 against Sierra Leone before they put up one of their best performances in the competition thus far to hammer defending champions Algeria 3-1 win in their final group phase fixture.
Meanwhile, Egypt qualified for the Round of 16 after finishing second with six points, in a group that was led by Nigeria, who garnered nine points.
The Pharaohs suffered an opening 1-0 defeat against the Super Eagles, recovered to edge out Guinea-Bissau 1-0 before defeating Sudan 1-0.
Squads & Team News
Ivory Coast have not reported any injury or Covid-19 related issues ahead of the fixture.
The Elephants head coach Patrice Beaumelle will hope his charges replicate the same form and spirit that saw them dispatch the defending champions.
Goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare is a sure bet to start between the sticks while defenders Serge Aurier, Simon Deli, Eric Bailly will give him cover with Wilfried Zaha, Nicolas Pepe, Sebastien Haller leading the attack.
Meanwhile, Egypt have two injuries concerns – Ahmed Fatouh and Akram Tawfik – who suffered blows during their group opener against the Super Eagles, with Tawfik being ruled out of the competition.
However, coach Carlos Queiroz will still have a good squad to pick the starting XI from, with Al Ahly’s Mohamed El-Shennawy likely to keep his goalkeeping role, Ahmed Hegazy, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Omar Kamal giving him cover while Mohamed Salah, who has managed one goal so far, will hunt for more goals.
The Liverpool forward is, however, predicting a tough game against the Elephants.
“Against Ivory Coast, it won’t be easy, but our team is gaining momentum,” Salah told reporters ahead of the game as quoted by CafOnline. “It will be a very tight match.”